Princeton pulls away past George Washington, 73-52

On the most consequential night of the still young Ivy League season, the Tigers did their part by extending their modest winning streak to three games. Although their effort will be overshadowed by Cornell’s near-miss at Syracuse in the Boeheim Bowl and Yale’s big win at Miami, the Tigers’ play against the A10’s George Washington deserves some recognition.

Princeton won, 73-52, but the final score is a misleading indicator of the proceedings. The outcome was very much in doubt after 12 minutes of play in the second half. While Princeton held single-digit leads through much of the game, the Colonials “hung around,” as we say, appearing poised to make a run at any time.

Jose Morales, usually the shortest player on the court, filled the spark plug role for the third straight game. At the 8:34 mark he made a gorgeous steal at the GW end with the Tigers up, 48-45. His coast-to-coast layup extended the lead to five.

On the ensuing play GW forward Javier Langarica was whistled for a personal foul on a rebound after a long range GW miss. The referee judged Langarica’s demonstration of protest as misguided, assessing a technical foul, which sent Devin Cannady to the line for two free throws. Cannady’s successful attempts were not unexpected. The senior is perfect from the line so far this season. The Tigers retained possession and quickly found Cannady in the right corner. The long range bomb completed his five-point play. One minute after the lead was three, the Tigers enjoyed a 10-point margin. The Colonials found themselves in a hole from which they had neither the means nor the will to escape.

The Tigers closed the game on a 25-7 run.

Myles Stephens turned in another double-double effort with 19 points and 11 rebounds, team highs in both categories. Cannady (16), Morales (13) and Richmond Aririguzoh (13) joined Stephens in double figures. Each of these players was on the court for at least 30 minutes. Sebastian Much (22 minutes) and Ryan Schwieger (25 minutes) rounded out what was essentially a six-player rotation.

In the absence of Will Gladson, who was on the bench in sweats, Aririguzoh’s 30 minutes was a career high. He turned in another productive effort, as he appears increasingly comfortable at both ends of the court. A key for him is to avoid foul trouble, particularly important with Gladson unavailable. Richmond did that while anchoring a solid defensive effort by the team. Henderson changed up his defensive looks, using a zone for longer stretches than usual, a tactic that proved effective against the cold-shooting Colonials. The visitors shot 19-for-55 from the field, while converting only 3-for-20 from long range.

The Tigers, on the other hand, shook off their recent shooting doldrums, making 25 shots in 48 attempts. Princeton cashed in on only four three-pointers, three of those by Cannady.

Cannady Watch: Devin is now tied for third place on the program’s career list with 235 three-pointers. He trails only Doug Davis ’12 (276) and Brian Earl ’99 (281). His 1310 career points moves him into the 10th spot on the scoring list, 11 behind Geoff Petrie ’70.

Good news for Tiger fans, Jaelin Llewellyn appeared in uniform for the first time this season, but only during warmups. We got a brief glimpse of his marvelous skills, leaving us anxious for more. When asked when he expected to put his star on the floor Henderson suggested that “he will play before the end of December.” He is taking a very cautious approach to the issue, and appropriately so. But a couple of behind-the-head dunks caught my attention!

Princeton faces another A10 foe, St. Joseph’s, on Wednesday at Jadwin Gym, the beginning of a brutal stretch that includes games against St. John’s (MSG), Iona and Duke. St. Joseph’s has been very tough on the Tigers in recent years, including the only win by a visiting team in Princeton’s historic 2016-17 season.

3 thoughts on “Princeton pulls away past George Washington, 73-52”

Great program win for the Tigers who continue to improve. Any idea why Gladson didn’t play? Hope it’s nothing serious. To my eyes, the steady improvement is due to greater intensity on defense. I attended Princeton’s loss at GWU last year; the Colonials were a pretty good team. They aren’t as good this year, but any win over an A-10 opponent is a big deal for an Ivy program, so hearty congratulations to Coach Henderson, his coaching staff, and the entire team. That’s a nice notch on the program record book.